Teaching conservation: Santa Barbara has a thing or two to teach other wealthy cities, like Beverly Hills and Rancho Santa Fe, when it comes to saving water. The city is ahead in the water conservation game in part because of its past experiences with droughts. It also has to do with residents' commitment to being green. "We're here because of the environment, the quietness and the beauty, and we work to keep it that way. It's part of our culture," one resident told the L.A. Times.

Walking the beat: In Fresno, residents have cut water use 33% thanks to aggressive water cops who hand out citations to water-wasters. "Our people get it. The other thing we've noticed, though, is there are still some people who don't get it.... We still have work to do," the city’s public utilities director told the L.A. Times.

Changing what’s for breakfast: California’s drought could change the way we eat, at least in the short term. The foothills of northern Los Angeles County, according to the L.A. Times, were once known for cherries, but the lack of rain, a hot winter and aggressive ravens and bark beetles have devastated the crop. When this year’s cherry festival rolled around, there weren’t any ripe cherries hanging from the trees. Eggs are also more expensive. The drought is bumping up the cost of feed at the same time California is complying with laws requiring that hens have more space to lay eggs.

"At higher elevation, normally you would have cooler temperatures and your rain and snow would linger longer into the spring or early summer. That's definitely not the case this year."

--Lee Beyer, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, on why the Lake Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains spread so rapidly.

"Everything President Obama does in California makes a huge statement. I'd say that's the wrong statement to make."

-- Sara Aminzadeh, director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, on the president's decision play golf in Palm Springs this weekend.

OFF BEAT

Unintended consequences: Mother Nature is going wacky over the drought. Frisky cats are producing more kittens. Poisonous snakes and scorpions are in homes looking for air conditioning. And succulents are suddenly a popular item for thieves, Mother Jones says.